The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Seal ring structures are used in semiconductor manufacturing to provide various protections, such as stress protection, moisture protection, for integrated circuits. Typically, the seal ring structures are formed of metal layers and via layers of metal compounds. The seal ring structures on a semiconductor wafer surround dies of integrated circuits to form protected regions between scribe lines (also referred to as dicing lines). In an example, when the semiconductor wafer is diced alone the scribe lines, the seal ring structures protect the integrated circuits in the protected regions from external stress caused by the dicing (sawing) process. The external stress can cause cracking in dies without seal ring protection.